Carpets have a way of becoming grungy, especially if you wear shoes in the house. You may think you are staying on top of cleaning with weekly vacuuming. Then one day you look down and the carpet is a few shades darker. It is time for a deep cleaning.

How to Deep Clean Carpets

You’ll need:

• A good vacuum
• Spot cleaning tools - brush, clean cloths
• A steam cleaner
• Vinegar

1. Pick a dry, non-humid day and get started early so that the carpet has as much time as possible to dry.
2. Move all of your furniture out of the room.
3. Vacuum. All carpet cleaning starts with a good vacuuming. Go slowly. Vacuum each part of the carpet from at least 4 different directions. Then vacuum everything again.
4. Spot clean. Do you have any stains or particularly grungy spots? Tackle each spot using the COIT Spot center.
5. Steam Cleaning. Fill your steam cleaner with hot water and one cup of vinegar. Steam clean the carpet according to the steam cleaner’s instructions.
6. Is the water filthy? Steam clean the carpet a second time. Try to extract as much moisture from the carpet as possible so that the carpet dries faster.
7. Allow the carpet to completely dry before walking on it.
8. When you move the furniture back in, place aluminum foil under the legs so that you do not get any staining or bleeding on to the carpet.

Deep cleaning carpets is a lot of work, but it can be done in one weekend and will make a big difference in how clean your carpets look and feel.